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Show people now on the government payroll to stage some pretty elaborate ela-borate maneuvers on their own hook. When the World War ended on November 11, 1918, there were 917,760 people on the federal payroll pay-roll exclusive ot soldiers, etc. Last December the figure reached reach-ed 987,857, the highest number since 1918. But on June 1, almost two months ago, the total on the federal fed-eral payroll was 1,011,066. What it will be when the "emergency'' ends nobody knows. A congressman from the Pacific Paci-fic coast is a participant in the latest anti-industry drive. A study of one of his latest bills indicates why .he doesn't understand things. He proposes that because manufacturers manu-facturers are granted an 8 per cent profit on their government business, busi-ness, farmers should be assured an 8 per cent profit on theirs. The truth is, of course, that manufacturers are not ''guaranteed" ''guaran-teed" an 8 per cent profit. They are told that if they can make more than 8 per cent the money will be taken away from them. Eighty eggs are required in spatt aka, a Swedish cake, in which potato flour and sugar are the only other ingredients. A south sea island has known nothing in the nature of war in 138 years. Is this a private peace or can anyone get into It? by JameS Preston As America's industries are faced with the necessity of producing pro-ducing for national defense, a new plan of attack is being shaped up against them in Washington. It is reminiscent of the effort made a year ago to convince the people that manufacturers wanted war because of the profits in it. That effort died in its youth since it was easy for the average American Am-erican to understand that manufacturers manu-facturers don't want to get into a business which may be profitable today but which will disappear tomorrow. to-morrow. That's war business. But now, with the nation rearming, re-arming, manufacturers are being called upon to produce for national na-tional defense despite their preference pre-ference for peaceful pursuits. Yet despite their willingness to cooperate co-operate they are being called "saboteurs." The group from which such charges emanate makes an interesting inter-esting line-up of bed-fellows: John Lewis of the CIO, about three newspaper columnists who are friendly to administration leftists, the Communists' newspaper, news-paper, the Daily Worker, and similar simi-lar others. At least one of these' apparently apparent-ly seek to take advantage of the difficulty of explaining a word much heard in connection with the pending tax bill "amortization." "amortiza-tion." That word is as simple as it can be, although it sounds impressive im-pressive to talk about "amortizing "amortiz-ing plants built for national defense.'' de-fense.'' One of the best current explanations explan-ations is this: A manufacturing industry does not, as some seem to believe, operate oper-ate on money put up by a few millionaires. mil-lionaires. Instead, it uses the savings sav-ings of millions of ordinary people peo-ple who lend (invest) their savings sav-ings in the hope of getting a return re-turn on them. Industries now are being asked, ask-ed, for example, to spend $100,-000 $100,-000 of these savings to build a plant and buy the machines needed need-ed to make high explosives. While there is a market for these explosives, ex-plosives, the industry will pay regular taxes amounting to nearly near-ly 21 per cent of its income plus special taxes on excess profits running run-ning up to 40 per cent or more. When need for high explosives ends, the plant and machinery will be worthless. All industry asks is the right to recover the cost of the plant and machinery while they are useful. In short, the bad word "amortization" "amor-tization" means simply "recovery of costs" and it does not, as John Lewis says, mean "immunity from proper taxation." A man who is trying to do a job was never encouraged by snipers. Industry has enough to do without having to defend itself against such baseless charges as these, say many national defense minded in Washington. It is whispered privately in dark places that there is a reason behind be-hind all this attack. The American Ameri-can people, it is said, have been led to believe that the skies soon will be swarming with 50,000 airplanes. air-planes. But it will be months if not years before there are that many. When the people become aware of the facts, it is said, they will wonder whose fault it is. The backers of the new assault hope industry will be blamed. Incidentally, there are enough |
